Angel Without Wings
by hyperswimfreak
Summary: I watched them kill my family and placed my trust in only one man. A dangerous man. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Please note that this is my first story that I have EVER written. Well, besides the hurriedly written ones for creative writing, and that doesn't count. But anyway, I'd like some healthy criticism (as in suggestions for the plot and stuff, and not WTF this is an awful piece of crap). I hope you enjoy reading this, and please review!

**Chapter One**

A terrified woman zigzagged between burning tents, ignoring the screams of pain and agony all around her while clutching bleeding profusely from many wounds herself. Narrowly avoiding stray knife, she almost tripped over a dead body as she dodged into a stately white tent that was still standing. She was as quick to leave the tent as she was entering it; barely a second had passed before she sprinted out and into the woods carrying a squirming bundle in her arms. Her escape did not go unnoticed; three men in black cloaks with scarlet clouds printed on them watched her flee.

One of the three men spoke. He had dark grey eyes with thin black rings in them; it almost looked like he had multiple irises. From his tone and words, it was clear that he was the leader of the trio.

"That woman is the wife of the leader of these nomads. Her name is Kaya. The thing that she was carrying is her child of about three years of age. Go, Itachi. You know what to do."

The man named Itachi disappeared in a trace. Like his leader, he had unique eyes, but his were a crimson red with three pitch-black tomoes. The third man, who sported light blue skin and gill-like whiskers on his face, started after him.

"Stop, Kisame. Itachi is more than enough to finish her off. I need you to help obliterate the nomads…Although I appreciate the…ah…_brotherly_ feelings you have for your partner." With a flap of his cloak, the leader disappeared. The man called Kisame snorted.

"Brotherly feelings my ass…"

* * *

Itachi's cardinal eyes bored into Kaya's sparkling emerald ones. Both gazes were equally intense, and each never took his eyes off the other. At last,

"…Where is your daughter?"

Kaya flinched, visibly shaken. Breaking off her gaze, she lowered her head and pleaded, "Please leave my daughter, please! I don't know why you've targeted us nomads, but now that you've obliterated us, can't you leave –"

The faint swishing of tree branches in the wind contrasted sharply with a loud crack as Kaya's plea was abruptly cut off by a snap to her neck. Itachi stood there, expressionless, as a small, thin girl of about seven years of age emerged from behind a bush. Her amethyst eyes flicked from her mother's still figure to the tall man with the pretty red eyes.

"Is mama dead?" She asked Itachi with a slightly concerned expression.

For the first time in two months, Itachi's countenance changed. Struck by the little girl's innocence and purity, his face registered a small amount of remorse and anguish. He realized that this girl, clad only in a thin tank top and shorts, believed death only to be another reachable place to go to, perhaps on a vacation.

"Yes…your mother – mama – is dead."

"Oh. Then I guess I'm dead, too…and so are you! This must be heaven – my name's Airi, Kiyomi Airi. What's yours?"

"I'm…"

He stopped as a mental wave took hold of his consciousness. Airi looked on worriedly as Itachi listened to his leader's voice berating him.

"The rest of us are already going back to the hideout. I don't know what's keeping you – I don't want or need to know – but don't be long… Or Kisame will start to fret."

Itachi grimaced as he replied with, "Yes, leader." As he looked around for Airi, he spotted her running in the direction of the camp. Slowly, he followed, glad that he could not see the little girl's face as she suddenly stopped short in sight of the ruins of her home. Silently, Itachi halted beside her, watching the conflagration consume the tents. Bodies were strewn across the once lush clearing, and the green grass was now dotted with pools of red – blood. Itachi forced himself to turn his head and look at the emotions carved onto Airi's face. Shock, then fear, then anger, and then sadness – it was all there. Her wiry legs trembled, and she would have hit the ground hard, had Itachi not caught her. He leaned his back against a tree as she sobbed into his chest. As her tears soaked through his cloak and into his netted shirt, he remembered that just two months before, he had witnessed a similar scene. And he had caused it. The incredulity of his father. His mother's horror. Sasuke's grief-stricken face as he saw their parents' corpses.

An hour passed as he went through his box of memories. Looking down, Itachi saw that Airi had fallen asleep. Her shock-white hair framed her heart-shaped face, which rested on his chest. Her arm was flung out over his stomach. Her own chest rose and fell in a steady beat. As Itachi looked her over, he realized that her entire body, while extremely light, was composed entirely of muscle. _She'll grow up to be a strong shinobi_. With that thought, he bit his thumb. Using his blood, Itachi wrote one word on Airi's bare arm.

Konoha.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Four and half years later_

I ran lightly on the well-worn road, raising light puffs of sand with each step. And with each plume of dust that billowed around my feet, one memory rose unbidden to my mind.

_The red sun was just starting to set as I woke from a quiet slumber. I sat up on the soft, lush grass and saw once again the corpses of my friends, mentors, teachers. My family. My home. Gone. I remembered the body of my mother still lying in a shaded clearing. I ran there, but the body was not to be found, only a small mound with a few twigs burning in front of it. As soon as I saw it, I knew that _that_ man had buried my mother. The man with the pretty red eyes._

_I headed back over to the remains of the camp. I cremated each and every one of the bodies, hoping to find at least one survivor. But it was useless. The Spirit Nomads had been extinguished – save for me. I was the last one with our unique chakra. Spirit chakra. The energy, no, more of a life force, that was capable of manipulating anything. I watched the last of the flames die out. As I raised my arm to shield my eyes from the bloody rays of the sun, I noticed something written on my arm. The characters spelled Konoha, the Hidden Village of the Leaf. I was sure that it was the man with the pretty red eyes who had put them there._

_Yes, I would go to Konoha. But not now. I was a girl with a purpose now. I didn't want to be raised and protected in a village. No, I wanted to explore the real world. I would survive on my own, learn on my own, and become stronger on my own. And I would gather information. The man with the pretty red eyes wore a black cloak with crimson clouds on them. Before my mother had run from camp with me, I had seen men with the same cloaks on. They were the ones who had killed my family, but why had _he_ not killed me?_

_I needed answers._

And I still did. Four years had not been enough to answer my questions; on the contrary, information about that man, whom I now knew to be named Uchiha Itachi, and Akatsuki, the organization he was a part of, spurred more questions. If the members of Akatsuki were as ruthless and cold-blooded as I heard them to be, why had Itachi spared my life? What had motivated him to protect me – for I knew, somehow, that he had protected me from his companions – if he was capable of killing his entire clan? And what was this band of outlaws going to do with the energy of the tailed beasts?

God, I was getting so dehydrated just thinking about these things. The Land of Fire sure deserved its name. It had been a cool and misty morning when I set out from the Waterfall Village, yet the heat here was stifling. I took a sip of water from my canteen, glad that I had filled it up before I'd decided to run nonstop to Konoha. I eyed the trees lining the sides of the sandy path. Taking to the shady woods seemed like a better idea than sprinting like an idiot – at noon – below the glaring sun. I was right. The forest provided a cool solace from the heat and also refuge from any unfriendly passerby. Rapists and rogue ninjas were abundant these days, and after straight running for seven miles, I wasn't in top shape for defending myself.

After a few miles, I spotted a gray wall looming ahead of me. Hopefully, my sense of direction hadn't failed me as it usually did, and the wall encircled the Leaf Village. Gathering speed, I shot out of the forest canopy and landed (well, fell would be a better word here) ungracefully just inside of the village gates. I lay on my back with my eyes closed and panting, not caring what people passing me by thought of me. As my breath finally sowed down to a normal rate, I opened my eyes and found two guards peering down at me. They were both chuckling, and one reached out to help me up. I gratefully took his hand and thanked him.

I dashed off, immensely glad that they had not asked for my purpose in Konoha. How could I just tell them that a man – who, by the way, was named Uchiha Itachi, like that wasn't not a big deal since he only killed his entire clan – left the kanji for Konoha on my arm with his blood about four years ago? One, they would never believe me, and two, they would immediately suspect me for something criminal at the very mention of Uchiha Itachi. For that, I would undoubtedly be placed under first class surveillance and interrogation. No, that would not do. My purpose in this village was none other than to gain information and strength.

I trotted along the straight path leading to the huge red building with the kanji for "fire" on it. Surely, that place was where the Hokage resided.

A sign just inside the building stated that the Hokage's office was on the third floor. There were no elevators in here. A discreet move to prevent any surprise attacks; the lone flight of stairs was the only way intruders could come in – either that or break down the walls of the building. As I clambered up the stairs, my mind was whirling with excuses to give, should the Hokage inquire a background of my family. I hated to lie, but the secret of Sky Nomads needed to be kept just that – a secret. Furthermore, there was the danger of exposing the man I was indebted to, even if he _was_ an S-class criminal. Mulling these things over in my head, I didn't pay attention to the other people also on the stairs.

And that resulted in a very painful consequence.

I slammed into someone on the stairs. I looked up to find a man who had also tumbled onto the stair steps, rubbing his forehead. Like me, he had hair the color of snow. He also wore a forehead protector with a leaf carved into the metal plate on him. He wore his forehead protector at an angle; it slanted so that his left eye was covered. I wondered if he did that out of vanity or if he had something special – something powerful – hidden under it. His mouth was also covered by a dark mask.

Once again, I was offered a hand to help me up. And once more, I accepted it while apologizing profusely. His one visible eye smiled at me, and I was sure that the corners of his mouth turned up. I flashed him a quick smile and continued on my way, hating myself for allowing it to be. After a few flights, I stopped in my tracks and slammed a fist against the wall.

Because that was the second time in one day that I had let myself be helped by others.

And I never relied on anyone other than myself.

I was alone, and I would always be alone.

Yes… That was right, wasn't it?

I was alone.


End file.
